System of covering shoe heels



Y M. O. FRST Filed Aug. 24, 1931 SYSTEM OF COVERING SHOE HEELS HKZ camerssemfg 6 7 r., M 4 z o.- mv .MM 9^, M .w A m f .W .W w .Jl Twl mW/ m f M \w www -IN l? R H 7 5 @w \j o TW f m m m 2 |+f Lw. l. ,ad w u x u 0 5 i@ ,/fVg/ ZMMW/ /,WJ M i +f/,i/L1 Lim mr n?? :f3/bn f/ f k Wk if A March 3,

Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE assignments, to The Lamson Company, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts lApplication August 24,

1 Claim.

v This invention relates generally to the manufacture of shoes, and particularly to a system of arranging the operators of a Wooden heel covering department. v

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a system of covering Wooden heels in a shoe factory in which the number of operators whose duty it is to perform rapid operations is substantially less than the number of operators whose duty it is to perform substantially sloW Oper'atiolis.V

Another object of this invention is to provide a system of covering wooden heels in which the progress of a heel during the process of covering is directed from one operator to thelnext succeeding operator who performs a different operation.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art When the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: v Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the arrangement of operator stations and machines in accordance with this invention in a wooden heel covering department of a shoe factory;

Figure 2 is a detail plan section of a tray or conveyor in connection with the conveying system of this invention.

In accordance with this invention generally stated, a series of operators is provided where the period of time required for the particular operation is great with reference to other operations in the procedure, and, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, suitable conveying devices are preferably provided in convenient positions adjacent the series of operators. In this manner the combined output of the entire series of operators whose operations require. considerable time may be converged at the station of an operator whose operations are relatively` short. The system of this invention contemplates the arrangement of operators and machines in such numbers as to permit rapid procedure of quantities of heels to be covered throughout the entire system, and suchl as' will enable a particular operator to be supplied continuously with work, which may depend upon Whether the preceding operator performed rapid or slow operation. Each operator will be supplied from one or more individual Sources.

Referring now particularly to the drawing for an illustrative embodiment of this invention, the Wooden heelV covering department of ashoe fac- 1931, Serial No. 558,924

tory is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1. In such a department it is, of course, necessary to provide a plurality of bins for accommodating the various sizes, shapes or styles of Wooden heels A which are to be covered. In the embodiment in Figure 1 such bins are shown at I and 2. When an order for covered heels comes into this department, an operator proceeds to the proper bins and extracts therefrom the required number of wooden heels, and similarly the coverings therefrom proceeding from the covering room of the shoe factory, and the heels and covers therefor may be assembled in accordance with the orders by an operator situated at table 3. It is often desirable before covering wooden heels that the covers be rendered of uniform thickness and such may be accomplished by the use of the well known splitting machine which may be conveniently disposed at position 40.

The covers may then proceed from splitter L while the heels simultaneously proceed from either bin I or 2, they being assorted and assembled by an operator at table 3. The operator at table 3 passes the assorted heels and covers to an operator at table 4 Whose duty it is to apply al coating of cement to the heels and covers. After such coating has been applied the covers and heels are in accordance with the usual practice set aside in a convenient rack, such as for instance 5, for a sufficient time to let the cement properly set. After the cement has properly set upon the heels and covers the same may be removed from the rack 5 and assembled upon a suitable container which may for instance, be in the nature of a tray, such as illustrated in Figure 2. The tray illustrated in Figure 2 is preferably in the nature of a flat board 6 which may or may not be provided with edges l as is desired. In accordance with this invention, however, the tray 6 is preferably formed in such a size as may be conveniently handled by the conveyor system which is to be hereinafter described.

After the cement has set for a sufficient time the respective covers and corresponding heels may be assembled upon the tray 6, which may then be placed in position upon a conveyor 8 of any suitable type, such as for instance, av belt or roller chute. The conveyor 8 preferably extends along between tWo series of heel covering stations 9 and I0, one located on each side thereof so that any operator situated at either of the stations 9 or l0 may remove the tray with its contained heels or covers from the conveyor and begin operating thereupon, which operation consists in the application of the covers to the heels and stretching the same thereabout.

After the operators at stations 9 and III have completed the covering operation upon the particular assignment of heels, the covered heels may then be returned to the tray and the same placed upon a suitable conveyor or chute I I also operating adjacent the series of heel covering stations.

After the tray has been placed upon the conveyor II by one of the heel covering operators the same proceeds to the end I2 where it may be removed by an operator situated at I3 who may be provided with a suitable device, such as a torch for shrinking or ironing the lining of the covering on the heel. After the cover has been thus shrunk it may be passed over to an operator at I4 who is provided with a suitable bufling machine where the creases, if any there be in the covering, may be buffed out.

When a particular assignment of work has been completed by operators I'3 and I4 the latter may dispose the same on a suitable chute or conveyor I5 by which it is transported into a suitable position adjacent one of a series of top lift nailers or attachers I6, it being understood that whichever operator I6 may at the particular time be out of work may remove the covered heels from the conveyor I5 and begin operating thereupon, whichY operation consists in nailing the top lift on the tread end of the heel.

As the operations are completed by the nailers, the heels are passed across the table I1 at which the nailers are situated into a position convenient for the trimmers I8 Whose duty it is to remove the top lift generally at the sides and back in the case of Louis heels and also at the front in the case of box or Cuban heels. This trimming operation brings the top lifts into conformity with the contour of the heel proper, and upon the completion of this operation the heels may be deposited upon aV chute or conveyor I9. The conveyor I9 transports the heels into position convenient for one of the series of setters 20 Whose duty it is to set or dress the trimmed edge of the top lift and upon the completion of the operation at station 20 the heels are passed across the table 2| to an inspector situated at table 22.

The above description has been confined to such heels as are covered with leather or fabric since as will appear hereinafter, the procedure in covering heels with celluloid is slightly different. From the foregoing description, however, it will be apparent that the number of operators, such as for instance the series of heel coverers, is dependent to a great extent upon the period of time required for the operations to be performed at the particular stations. In view of the fact that the ironing and bufling operations at stations I3 and I-4 respectively, is a relatively fast operation, it is apparent that the two operators I3 and I4 will be capable of handling the entire output of two series of heel covers which in the illustrated embodiment comprise twelve individual operations. Likewise, the top lift nailing operation requires slightly more time than the bufling and shrinking, but considerably less time than thevcovering operation. There are provided in the illustrated layout three such nailers at position I6; and similarly the top lift trimming operation being rather a fast one requires but two operators. The number of setters required depends entirely upon the nature and extent of the setting operation, in some instances it being Sullicient to provide the same number of setters as the number of trimmers, but in high class shoes.

especially ladies shoes, it is generally necessary to provide at least four setters.

With reference now to the covering of heels With celluloid such as is necessary With ladies shoes which are made of the so-called patent leather, the procedure is slightly different. In View of the fact that it is necessary that the heel be smooth before applying the covering thereto, it is generally necessary to sand the heel before the process of covering is begun. Such a sanding operation may be accomplished by suitable Sanders situated at 23. The sander 23 may pass the sanded heels over to an operator situated at 24 who applies thereto a coating of cement, and in View of the fact that it is necessary to permit such cement to set before proceeding with the application of the cover, a plurality of trays, such as 6, containing cemented heels may be accumulated or stacked upon the floor or in any suitable container as illustrated at the side of the station 24.

After the cement has had opportunity to suflciently set, the operator 24 may place the tray of cemented heels upon conveyor or chute I5 by which they will be transported to a position where they will be available for one of the heel covering stations of series 9, it being apparent that the chute or conveyor I 5 is disposed immediately behind the positions of the heel covering station of series 9. An operator of the series 9 may then turn about, remove the tray containing the cemented heels from the chute or conveyor I5 and apply thereto the celluloid covers which have been previously treated in the usual manner. After the covers have been applied the tray containing the covered heels may be deposited upon conveyor I I by which it will be transported to an operator situated at 25 where a burnishing operation is performed upon the heels in order to iron out any creases and smooth the entire surface thereof. Upon completion of a particular lot of work, the operator 25 may turn about and deposit the tray upon the chute or conveyor I5, it being apparent that the operator 25 is positioned intermediate the conveyors II and I5 so that he may readily remove the former and place the same upon the latter. After the celluloid covered heels have for the second time been placed upon the chute or conveyor I5 they proceed in the same manner as the leather heels to the nailers and trimmers as directed.

In this specification reference has been had to various machines or devices designated in accordance with the operations they are to perform; such as Sanders, cementers, burnishers, etc. Such machines or devices are well known and in common use in various shoe factories and are illustrated in various catalogues, as Well as patents, to which reference need not be had in order to enable those skilled in the art to obtain a full disclosure of the system embodying this invention. In many cases the various operations may be performed by hand, andin some cases, are performed by hand. It is, therefore, to be understood that where any operation is referred to it contemplates not only a machine but also a station at which an operator may be positioned to perform the operation.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that many modifications of the system of covering Wooden heels as hereinbefore described will present themselves to those skilled in the art which will not depart from the spirit of this invention. It is to be distinctly understood, therefore. that the invention is not limitedn to the AKilt() specific details herelnbefore set forth, but that such modifications or the useof such individual features or sub-combinations of features as do not depart from the spirit of this invention are, although not specifically described herein, contemplated by and within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is lclaimed is:

The art of preparing shoe heels wherein heels of two distinct types are treated at a certain operating station, characterized in that the heels of one type, pass before said operating station along a fixed predetermined path, are removed from said path and treated at said station, caused to move along a fixed predetermined delivery path to a second operating station, again treated at said latter station, caused to commingle with heels of the second type and with them to move in a fixed predetermined path to a third operating station past the first named operating station, and in that heels of the second type are selected from the commingled heels as they pass said first named station, treated at said first named station, and returned after treatment to the same path from which they were removed and wherein the heels of both types travel onward together to the third operating station. 

